Richelle Putnam
EDUCATION:
Currently
enrolled in Gotham City’s Advanced Fiction Writing
Certificate Program
Completed
Gotham City's Playwriting Course
Graduated three Institute of Children’s Literature courses:
Writing for Children and Teenagers, Novel Writing Course, and Creating and
Selling Short Stories and Articles, an Advanced Writing Program
Completed Margaret Shauers Writing
For Children Online Course
Completed Scott Wiggerman's Poetry
Online Course
Completed Anastasia Suen's Rhyming
Picture Book Online Course
Graduated Advanced Writing Program of Open College for the
Arts, an affiliate of The Open University, University of Glamorgan
in England
Graduate of Writer’s Digest School Novel Writing Course
Completed Poetry Kit of Liverpool England’s Advanced Poetry
Course 2007 and the Nature Poetry Course 2007
Completed Spring 2007 Gotham City’s
Advanced Poetry Writing Program
Attended 2004 Thinking/Writing Project, Harris High, Meridian,
MS
Attended 2006 Yoknapatawpha Writing Workshop, Oxford, MS
Accepted into and attended the 2007 Mississippi Alliance for
Arts “Arts in Education: Planning Effective Workshops for Teachers” Seminar
held at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS
Attends annual Southern Breeze Society Children’s Books
Writers and Illustrators writer’s conferences and many others
EXPERIENCE:
Judge for
the children’s division of the “Dream Realm Awards”, 2000, 2001, and 2002
Guest speaker for Mystic-Ink’s website chat on the topic
“Assessing and Winning Writing Competitions"
Featured guest and winning entry, "Coming Home," on
Writer's Review
A featured writer on Para Normal Photos website
A featured writer on The Book Reviewers Site
A featured writer on Real Scary Stories website
Facilitated writer workshops on characterization, writing for
children, and memoir writing at Meridian Public Library in 2001
Spoke to Meridian literary club on characterization, February
21, 2002
October 4, 2001, speaker at Meridian Community College's
Victorian Christmas Luncheon regarding how Victorians celebrated Christmas and
what made the Victorian Era memorable
Closing guest speaker at Poplar Springs School, Meridian, MS,
2005 Writer's Day
A Scribum Online author for online
stories and articles
Judge for 2002-03 and 2003-04 Meridian Community College's
Writing Competition, High School Division
Judge for 2004-05 Cultural Arts, Literary Division of Magnolia
Middle School, Meridian, MS
Judge 2005-06 Cultural Arts Fair, Literary Division of
Northwest Junior High School
Judge 2007 Gulf Coast Writers Association Writing Competition
– Fiction Division
Facilitator 2006 Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG)/Meridian
Museum of Art People Choice Writing Competition
Facilitated 10 week Journaling Sessions with Trustees of
Lauderdale County Detention Center
Facilitated Journaling Sessions in conjunction with the Milken Youth Festival Community Service Grant with fourth
grade gifted students of Clarkdale, Southeast, Northeast, and West Lauderdale
Elementary Schools and special needs students at Northeast Elementary School
October 2006, I initiated and taught free writing workshops at
Eudora Welty Library, Jackson, Mississippi
November 2006, Judge for EPIC New Voices Contest, Poetry
Category
Online teacher of "Creating Memorable Characters"
through Coursebridge.com
Staff Writer, Kid’s Page News, All Headline News, a major
Internet news source
Facilitates workshops on writing and publishing at private and
public schools, home-schoolers, libraries, and
through various arts programs.
Teaches private creative writing lessons to children and
adults
An online mentor to children and teen writers
Started and facilitated writer's groups at Northeast High
School and Lamar School in Lauderdale County
Speaker for the Reading and Writing Celebration at Vestavia
Hills Elementary School, Birmingham, Alabama
Teaches creative writing at College for Kids, held each year
at Meridian Community College
Teaches creative writing through Meridian Community College’s
Continuing Ed Program
Founder and President of Mississippi Writer’s Guild
Creator and facilitator of Literary Artists on Stage
Former Children’s and Young Adult Genre Editor for “Gotta Write Network”, which has been in business since 1988
Former Staff Writer for Novel Advice, an online writer ezine
Former first reader for Net Author's E2K's Literary Journal,
fiction category
Former first reader for Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine
Former feature article freelance writer for Meridian Plus, www.meridianplusonline.com
Literary Artist on the Artist Roster for the State of
Mississippi
SCBWI/Southern Breeze Contact Person for the State of Mississippi
A Mississippi Regional Facilitator for Poetry Out Loud:
National Recitation Competition
Selected in 2007 as one of five authors in the state for
Mississippi’s All-Write Initiative
2007
Judge for Children’s Audiobook Category, Ben Franklin
Writing Awards
2008 Southern-Breeze/SCBWI Fall Conference Coodinator
PUBLISHING CREDITS
The
The
The
The
The
Writer's
Korner's, What
is Character?
Sunday
Magazine, Our Search for Perfection
National
Association of Women's Writer's (NAWW), Gourmet Writing
The
Writing Parent Print Newsletter, Gourmet
Writing,
The
Writing Parent Website, Knocking the
Block off of Writer's Block
Beginnings
Magazine January 2001 issue; Obsession
Beginnings
Magazine January 2001 issue; Coming Home
World
Wide Writers, Truth and Mercy
Cup
of Comfort for Mothers and Daughters, The
Power of a Mother’s Love
Net
Author’s website, For the Love of the
Game
Orchard
Press Mysteries, Betraying Scents
Lovewords November 2001, The Ficus Prophecy
Press-Tige Publishing Company, March 2001, Fallout
Suite
101’s Real People, Real Stories anthology, Finalist out of 600 entries, a
Reader's Choice Forum Pick, and published with the three winning entries in
the, which included 17 essays short-listed by Suite101.com's Editors as well as
10 essays selected by the Members of Suite101.com in the Readers' Choice Forum
(Read Essays) as both an ebook and print-on-demand
trade paperback. The anthology featured an introduction by George Anders, a
Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and Silicon Valley Bureau Chief for Fast
Company magazine, The Incredible Miracle
of the Internet
Novel
Advice, Developing Character Emotions
Novel
Advice; Conflict: The Ins and Outs
Wee
Ones June 2002, non-fiction What Am I?
E2K
Literary Journal May 2002 issue, Perfect
Peace
Fiction
Fix, Contests: One Foot in the Door
National
Association of Women's Writers (NAWW) Writer’s Guide, Greener
Pastures
Novel
Advice's May 2002 Cyber Journal, Dialogue:
A Fine Art
Boy's
Quest December 2003, non-fiction article, Mystery
Booms
Hopscotch
Magazine for Girls August 2006 issue, Butterflies
in the City
Hopscotch
Magazine for Girls August 2006 issue; A
Butterfly Lesson
Cayuse
Press’s Book of Remembrance, Volume 2, Circle
of Love
The
Copperfield Review, summer 2002, historical fiction My
Friend Anita
NAWW’S
Feminine Writes Anthology, Gourmet
Writing
NAWW’S
Feminine Writes Anthology; What is
Character
Obadiah
Press Living by Faith Anthology, Starting
Over
Romancing
the Soul Anthology, The Quintessence of
Romance
Writers
Journal, This Old Man
Novel
Advice January 2003 issue, The Road to
Success
Net
Author April 2003, Conflicts: The Ins and
Outs
Novel
Advice's Cyber Journal April 2003 issue, Writing
Poetic Language
Appleseeds January 2004 Issue, Spinning
Ideas and Weaving a
Net
Author, Character? What's That?
A
Tribute to Mothers Anthology, Paperdoll Publishing,
publisher, The poem, Who Can Know a
Mother's Love
MeridianPlus
MeridianPlus
MeridianPlus
MeridianPlus
MeridianPlus
Southern-Hum
Literary Journal September 2006 issue, Discarded
MeridianPlus November 2-17 issue; Volunteerism: Building Strong Families
MeridianPlus November 2-17 issue; Amber Jones,
MeridianPlus November 2-17 issue; Girl Scouts, Volunteers of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow
MeridianPlus November 21-December 3 – All I want for Christmas is an Incubator
MeridianPlus November 21-December 3 - Deck the “Halls” with the Giving Spirits of Maurice and Cathy Hall
MeridianPlus
MeridianPlus
MeridianPlus
Truth and Mercy – Amazon Shorts, Amazon.com
Coming Home – Amazon Shorts, Amazon.com
Papa’s Presence – Oxford Towne,
All
Headline News www.allheadlinenews.com – over 324 articles
The Glass Vase of Clover – Common Ties www.commonties.com
Meet Poet Dorothy Holloway –
Today’s
Mississippi Woman
They –
The Remote Control:
Reincarnated,
Song of Melissy
– To be
published in GCWA’s Short Story Anthology
Spirit-Filled – Flashquake’s Dec/Feb issue
All About Need – November/December issue American Songwriter
Interviewed children's
authors David Davis, Dorothy Thompson, Valerie Hardin, Gail Johnson, Violet
Ramos, Laura Backes, Jan Pierson, Jennifer LB Lessee,
Peggy Tibbetts, Kathryn Lay, Jan Peck, Diana Kimpton, and Dotti Enderle.
WRITING
AWARDS:
1999 Writer’s Digest Writing Competition (Over 14,000 entries) – Finalist for “Song of Melissy”
1999 Write Spot Competition – Finalist for “North and South,”
January 2000, By-Line Magazine Children’s Story or
Picture Book Competition –
2000 Mystic-Ink “Love That Romance” contest – First place winner for “The Quintessence
of Romance”, $500.00 in prizes
2000 Writer’s Arena 48 Hour Mystery Contest – First place winner for “The Chocolate Syrup Caper”
2000 Inscription’s Summer Romance Contest – Honorable Mention for “Beneath the Ruin”
By-Line Magazine's September 2002 Genre Fiction
Competition - Honorable Mention for
"Beneath the Ruin
2000 World Wide Writer’s Competition –
2000 Writer’s Digest Writing Competition (over 19,000 entries) Finalist in Genre Short Story
Division for “The Curse”, and finalist in Children’s Division for “My Brother
Kevin”
August 2000 Byline Magazine Chapter of a Novel contest – Honorable Mention for “You Are My Sunshine”
Coffeehouse for Writers Short Fiction Contest: “The Ficus Prophecy” - 2nd
Place winner in, prize money and publication on website, a site recognized by
Writer’s Digest and Inscriptions Magazine
Beginnings Magazine Winter 2001 Writing Competition – First Place Winner for “Coming Home,” prize money,
publication in Beginnings print magazine and on website;
Fiction Fix’s Vocab-Confab
Essay Rant Contest – “Gourmet
Writing" First place winner in, prize, published on website, recognized by
Writer’s Digest and Inscriptions Magazine
ChildAuthor's writing competition - "My Brother Kevin," one of ten finalists
2001 Writer's Digest Writing Competition which had over 18,000 entries – Honorable Mention for
“My Grandpa’s Overalls”
Honorable Mention in the Blue Mountain Arts Poetry Competition -
"Since I Met You," finalist
October 2001 WriteSafe
Quarterly Competition Finalist and
2nd place winner for North and South
WriteSpot's 2002 Spring Writing Competition - Short story entitled "They" selected as finalist
in and won first place in
WriteSafe's third quarterly competition of
Writer's Journal July 2001 Romance Writing Competition – first place for "This Old Man,"
By-Line Magazine's Flash Fiction Writing Competition - "Perfect Peace," Special Honorable
Mention
Coffeebean Shop's Writer's Competition on Irish
Coffee - "The Luck of the
Irish," finalist
Writer's Unknown 2002 Summer Classic Writing
Competition "Song of Melissy," finalist
2002 CNW/FFWA Writing Competition - First chapter of "Sons of Segbert,"
a historical fiction, honorable mention
A Cup of Comfort for Mothers and Daughters,
WriteSafe's Quarterly competition -Truth and Mercy finalist
2002 Writer's Digest Writing Competition, which had over 19,000 entries -
Honorable Mention for
"Lights in the Darkness"
Obadiah Press' 2002 "Faith" Writing
Competition published in the Obadiah
Press "Living by Faith" Anthology - "Starting Over" a
finalist published in anthology
WriteSafe's Quarterly Competition - "Life After Death" finalist
WriteSafe's Quarterly Competition - "You Can't Go Back” a semi-finalist
2005 Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Contest - Honorable Mention for
“You Can’t Go Back” in Suspense/Thriller Category
CNW/FFWA 2004 Annual Writer's Competition - First Chapter of "You Are My Sunshine"
1st place winner in the Children's Category
Fish Publishing's 2005 Fiction Contest - Confessions of a Single Mother, a long list
finalist of over 1,700 entries in
Writer’s Digest 2005 Annual Fiction Competition,
Literary Division “Confessions of a
Single Mother” third place winner
Writer’s Digest 2005 Annual Fiction Competition - “I Hate You, Mrs. Powell (My End of the World),”
Honorable Mention in, Children’s Category;
2006
December
2006 runner-up in Song of the Year Competition in contemporary category for My Wish
February
2007 – 2nd place winner,
February
2007 – Honorable Mention, Song of the Year Competition in Contemporary category
for The World Is Much Bigger Than Me
April
2007 – Honorable Mention, Song of the Year Competition, Christian Category, for
Thank God for All the Little Things
September
2007 – Honorable Mention,
October
October
December 2007 – Finalist for Remote Control: Reincarnated, Humor Press December Humor Contest
January/February 2008 –
Honorable Mention – American Songwriter Magazine for Take the Long Way home
ORGANIZATIONS:
Member in good standing of the National SCBWI, Southern Breeze Division of
SCBWI; Cassell Network of Writers (CNW); The Association of Writers and Writing
Programs (AWP); Media Bistro; Writer’s Bridge; Meridian Museum of Art;
President of Mississippi Writer’s Guild; Board Member of Meridian Council for
Arts; Past Board Member of Lauderdale County's Boys and Girls Club; Twentieth
Century Literary Club; Mississippi Federated Women’s Club